


You Make the Centuries Short

by wafflesandkruge



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Historical AU, Immortals AU, M/M, Old Guard AU, idiots to lovers, repeated character death i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25759408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesandkruge/pseuds/wafflesandkruge
Summary: Zoya and Nikolai meet in India in 1470, and they kill each other. Repeatedly, because apparently death doesn't stick with them the way it does for others. But eventually, they're able to get over their differences and thus begins their centuries together.
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	You Make the Centuries Short

**Author's Note:**

> Not a traditional fic because I didn't have the patience for that, but maybe one day!

  * They were both born in the mid 1450s, Nikolai in Russia and Zoya in India
  * They met when Nikolai accompanied Afanasy Nikitin in his voyage to India as a bodyguard of sorts, but really, he just wanted to explore the world
  * Zoya was running with a gang of bandits/mercenaries to provide for her family and they decided to rob the Russian group
  * There’s a short, but fierce, skirmish
  * Zoya immediately singles out Nikolai who seems far more competent than the other guards, she’s looking for a challenge
  * The two fight, and they’re so focused and enthralled, Nikolai doesn’t notice his captain calling for a retreat, he almost has Zoya exactly where he wants her
  * With a quick step towards Zoya, he grabs her sword to block it and he runs her through. She starts toppling into the river, but he misses the gleam of malice in her eyes.
  * With one last burst of strength, she hooks a hand around his chest and slips a knife out of her other sleeve
  * As they fall into the river together, she drags the knife across his throat and the last thing he remembers before the freezing cold of the water is her voice hissing into his ear. _Fool_. 
  * They’re left for dead bc no one wants to get into the dangerous river to recover their bodies which are soon swept away



\---

  * Nikolai wakes first, gasping and immediately choking on river water. The current has slowed down and he’s able to tread water. He’s bewildered. He was sure he died, and if what the other mercenary had done hadn’t killed him, he should have drowned
  * He brings a hand to his throat which feels decidedly whole
  * He swims to shore and starts coughing up all the blood/water in his lungs. There’s a surprising amount of blood which just convinces him further he should be dead
  * Further down the river bank, there’s a dark shape
  * It shudders suddenly and coughs, vomiting river water
  * It couldn’t be- but it was the mercenary he thought he’d gutted. And though the front of her clothes were stained with blood, she looked surprisingly healthy for someone who’d had a sword in them a few hours ago
  * She rolled over and froze when she saw him
  * And though he didn’t understand her language, the meaning was clear enough. _You should be dead_. He could say the same for her
  * She’s getting to her feet slowly and drawing a knife. Nikolai has to wonder just how many of them she has, because he’s completely out of weapons
  * They grapple, and he manages to disarm her, but not before she slashes his wrists
  * He holds her under the water until her spasms stop, the water red with his blood
  * He only takes a few steps away until he collapses from dizziness. He wonders if this time death will stick



\---

  * It doesn’t. They fight for what feels like weeks, though Nik doesn’t really know why. He doesn’t particularly harbor a grudge against the thief, other than her slitting his throat. And his wrists. Okay, maybe he did have a bit of a grudge.
  * They both come back to life dozens of time, each resurrection seemingly faster than the last
  * Nikolai doesn’t know what he fears more- the both of them coming back to life for eternity or him or the thief dying for good
  * Luckily, they ended up in the countryside so no one witnessed the frankly horrifying state of their clothing and the blood soaking the ground
  * There’s only one knife left between the two of them, and whoever comes back first usually tries to seize it
  * This time, after another death (Zoya stabbed him, he snapped her neck), he wakes up first. The knife is closest to him, still coated in his blood. 
  * Groaning, he gets up and reaches for it
  * A few feet away, Zoya jerks back to life
  * In the morning sun, even with her wild hair and torn clothes, she glows and Nikolai thinks, not for the first time, that she’s beautiful
  * She eyes the knife in his hand, resignation in her eyes
  * Before he fully thinks things through, he flings the knife into the river
  * She lets out a cry and wades in after it, but the current carries it away too quickly. She glares at him
  * He sits, hands held out to show they were empty. He points to himself. “Nikolai.”
  * She sits down a few feet away, eyes wary. “Zoya.”



MODERN DAY 

  * They’ve picked up a few other immortals along the way and now they go around the world trying to make it just a bit better
  * They found Jesper first when he died during the American Revolution. They stayed around a bit to harass the British bc they all hated the British
  * Inej died during the Third Anglo-Maratha war in India in the early 1800s, they again stayed to harass the British
  * Kuwei is the newest immortal, was a Chinese soldier who died defending his village during WWII 
  * They also found Harshaw in Ireland during the Nine Years’ War in 1600 (again, the British) but while fighting in WWI, his wounds stopped healing and he died. That’s when they all realize they’re somewhat mortal and they become more careful from then on
  * They have an assignment in Russia where a terrorist group was holding an entire town hostage and threatening to kill everyone if the government didn’t meet their demands
  * Although the severity of the situation isn’t lost on them, Nikolai’s more cheerful than he’s been in a while to be back in his home country
  * He’s been annoying Zoya all day about them taking a little detour just by themselves after the mission to visit some of his favorite places
    * “They don’t even exist anymore, Nikolai.”
    * “But we can just stand there. And imagine.”
  * The mission is going great, as usual, the bad guys are baffled their bullet wounds close right up, blah blah blah
  * Near the end of the last skirmish, Nikolai throws himself in front of Zoya to take a bullet for her
  * She rolls her eyes, it’s an annoying habit he’s picked up. It’s cute though, she’ll give him that. She continues shooting, and soon enough, there are no terrorists left
  * Sighing, she holsters her gun. “Where to now, Lantsov?”
  * There’s no response.
  * She turns around and Nikolai is on the ground, a hand clutched to his side. His eyes are wide with an almost child-like confusion
  * “It’s still bleeding. Why is it still bleeding?”
    * Zoya’s blood runs cold. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
    * “I-I don’t know, it’s not healing. It should have healed by now, right?”
    * She pulls his shirt up, and sure enough, blood is still gushing out of him.
    * She screams for a medic in English, Russian, Ukranian, desperate



\---

  * “I still want to be with you guys.”
  * The four of them are clustered around Nikolai’s bed in the hospital. He’s almost okay to be discharged, but Zoya isn’t having it. It’s been so long since they’ve had to deal with actual injury and medicine has changed so much that she’s not sure what to trust
    * “Like hell you are. We have that house in Madrid, you can stay there until we figure this out.”
    * The other immortals not so subtly exit the room to let them have the big argument that’s been brewing for a while
  * “You could die!” She’s furious and pacing, her upset apparent. She can’t even begin to imagine spending centuries alone if he- She can barely remember a time before Nikolai
    * “I could have died in Russia! But at least now I know I’m mortal. If we’re careful-”
    * “No. You would never let us protect you like that. Tell me, if there was a gun pointed at me, would you hesitate to put yourself in front of me? Knowing you would die?”
    * He’s silent, his jaw tight. She knows that’s his stubborn look.
    * “I can’t lose you too, _anbe_. Please.” This is the closest to begging Zoya has ever gotten.
    * “I don’t want special treatment. You can’t ship me off to a retirement home just yet,” he says with a brittle smile. “I don’t want to be away from you. Would you be willing to put off what we’ve been doing since the 1400s just to spend a few domestic decades with me while the world goes to shit?”
    * Zoya immediately opens her mouth to say “of course,” but then she pauses. She knows it would be a lie. He knew her too well
    * “I’ll be fine,” he says gently. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
  * It’s another day, another mission
    * The team has adjusted surprisingly well to having to account for Nikolai being mortal and other than a few scrapes and scratches, he’s been miraculously unscathed
    * They’re in Prague now, clearing out a terrorist cell
    * It’s not a difficult mission, but Zoya can’t help feeling uneasy
    * Then she sees a terrorist she assumed was dead raise his gun towards Nikolai’s turned back and without thinking, she throws herself between them
    * It hits her chest and she’s knocked back into Nikolai, but she still manages to shoot the terrorist
  * She swears softly in Tamil. “You know they say you don’t build up an immunity to gunshots but I think otherwise.”
    * She presses a hand to her chest, wincing, and waiting for the wound to knit itself back together
    * It doesn’t
    * Nikolai must have caught on, because suddenly his hands are on her face, her chest, everywhere. Panic floods his voice. “Милая?”
    * “I don’t know- I don’t think I’m healing.” Zoya blinks rapidly. Her chest hurts so badly and black spots blur her vision, the way they used to before where she’d wake up a few minutes later completely fine. But she knew she wouldn’t wake up this time. 
    * “ _Anbe_ ,” she murmurs, interlacing her hand with Nikolai’s. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Все нормально.”
    * Dimly, she’s aware of Jes calling for an ambulance, Inej and Kuwei at a respectful distance, their heads bowed
    * Nikolai is crying now. “Don’t leave me. Please. We can go to Madrid like you wanted.”
    * She tries smiling. “That’d be nice.”
    * “ _Ya lyublyu tyebya, Please,_ Zoya. Open your eyes. They’re almost here.”
    * “ _Ya lyublyu tyebya, anbe.”_ She opens her eyes for what feels like the last time so she can look at the face of the man she’s loved for centuries, but centuries never felt as long as those precious few seconds



Optional epilogue if you want a happy ending:

  * She woke in a hospital room, the beeping of machines irritating her the longer they went on. Despite waking from what felt like a death, she hurt all over and it wasn’t going away. That was new.
    * She turns her head and finds Nikolai asleep in a chair next to her bed
    * She licked her dry lips, wincing at the sharp pain in her throat. “Hey.”
    * He bolts awake, hand going for a weapon in his pocket
    * When he sees it’s just him and Zoya, the tension drains out of his shoulders
  * “Hey. How are you feeling?”
    * She frowns, lets her eyes trail over all the machines she’s hooked up to. “This is new.”
    * He takes her hand, absentmindedly rubs circles on the back of it with his thumb. “You’ve always wanted to spice up our relationship”
    * She laughs, then regrets it when her chest aches. “Don’t make me laugh. Where are the others?”
    * He hesitates. “I don’t know.”
    * Zoya tenses. “What do you mean? Are they okay?”
    * “They’re fine. Inej thought it best if they left us to ourselves so we wouldn’t be... _tempted_. They said to only contact them in an emergency”
    * Zoya sighs. “Betrayed by our own friends.”
  * They’re silent, both contemplating the new lives they’re going to lead
    * “What if we can’t–” Zoya stops, not sure what she’s asking.
    * Nikolai brushes a kiss against her knuckles. “As long as we’re together, _lyubov moya_.”
    * Her face softens. “Alright.”
    * He smiles, his face filled with the same light as centuries ago when he’d first spotted her among the group of ancient mercenaries. “I believe we were talking about Madrid?”



**Author's Note:**

> There's a Jesper/Kuwei traditional fic in the works, stay tuned!


End file.
